Pictures

First Day!

We had a great first day with one exception. Gabi has the chicken pox so can't be with us. From Tutova, we have Alina, Marius and Cleo. I haven't seen Marius since Tutova closed. He doesn't seem much bigger but he still likes to throw balls and is ticklish. We had him laughing a few times. Cleo seems about the same and Alina immediately put up her hands for patty cake. She is talking more but also doesn't seem much bigger. Dan weighed her and she is 18 pounds. My team mate Robin called her a scamp and that is a good word for her. Out of nowhere this afternoon she said, "ooh la la." Too funny. She had me walking up and down the hall with her and we would alternate marching and running. So I'm eating some exercise.

We also have Delia, the little girl with missing limbs, who was with us last year. She is sitting up on her own and just so bright. The children that are new to me are Elena who appears to have cerebral palsy; Luciana who seems to have some delays; Luca who may be autistic but not sure about his issues and Andrei who has hydrocephalus. His head is even bigger than Cleo's and he seems worse than her. He doesn't seem to respond to anything.

Of course it was great to see the aide Coca. She immediately asked about Raul and I told her Carolyn is taking beat care of him and he is doing as well as can be expected given his illness. I need to figure out a way I can show her pictures from Carolyn's Facebook page. (The hospital doesn't have wireless.)

There is more snow than I've seen here before but it isn't terribly cold. I think it is in the 30s. The new hotel is all right. The rooms are really small and you have to be sure you don't rollover in bed or you might fall out. The shower is the kind with a combined bathtub which is so high that I have to be careful climbing in. Amazingly, unlike most showers in Romanian hotels that I've experienced, it doesn't leak!

I didn't want to take too many pictures today since it was the first day plus we were busy. I'll work on it though!

So close...

We met up with our third team member today, Beth, who lives in PA and works in publishing. We all appear to be about the same age and I'm sure we will work well together.

Dan and the driver Dorel made it to Bucharest at noon today. The roads were fairly clear until we got closer to Barlad. At the marker that said 31 km to Barlad, traffic was stopped. Two trucks were entangled as the cleared road wasn't wide enough for them. We were told we might have a 1-2 hour delay but it ended up being only about 20 min. Some men cleared more snow so the trucks were somehow able to maneuver around each other. Hallelujah!

Dinner at the hotel Moldova and an early night. None of us slept well last night so I acted as the drug connection and shared my melatonin stash. Hoping for at least 6 hours of sleep. Need our energy for the children tomorrow. Can't wait.

Roadblock

Stuck in Bucharest

Looks like our arrival in Barlad will be delayed until tomorrow, assuming the roads are cleared by then. Robin, my team mate from last winter, and I picked up where we left off chatting away at breakfast. Went for a short walk around our hotel out by the airport where the area is a combination of light industry, residential and a cemetery. Not too exciting. We decided against going into the city center given that it is freezing cold and snowing. A good day for reading and a nap. And I found a Grey's Anatomy re-run in English and CNN on the tv. Hopefully Monday this blog will have pictures of the children!

Arrival in Bucharest

My luggage and I arrived at the same time in Bucharest at 1:00 a.m. Something I've learned not to take for granted having had bags delayed on two prior trips. I also arrived to emails from Mihaela and Dan, our fearless leaders, saying that heavy snow has closed the road and the railway between Bucharest and Barlad. Usually we meet them at the airport mid-afternoon on Sat., but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Robin, a volunteer who was on my last trip, is at the same hotel and we will connect with Mihaela and Dan tomorrow and sort it out.

I don't want to miss any time with the children!

Testing...

Getting ready to leave tomorrow for two weeks in Romania and a week in Berlin. Hope to see some of the children I know and meet some new ones. We are staying in a different hotel as the former one went into foreclosure. With any luck the Internet will work and you will see posts and pictures on this site soon!